HUGH HEFNER (N) IS ALIVE AND WELL AND...

Granted, it was a sort of ghoulish hunch play, but Hugh Hefner N did deliver in the $15,000 event for 20-grand claimers. Opening as an odds-on favorite, he continued as the people's preference, though drifting to 13-10.

Away third from post position No. 3, the Playboy Pacer engaged the leader in the final turn, taking over before holding a closer at bay by a neck in 1:55. A night after his namesake's passing, 'Hef' returned $4.60 for his third win in 20 seasonal starts.

The 9-year-old Down Under Falcon Seelster gelding (somehow, that doesn't seem right) was driven by Jason Bartlett and trained by Doug Dilloian Jr. for owner Keith Motusesky.